


The Letter

by 2am_Writing_Addict



Category: 18th Century CE RPF, Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, F/M, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, IDK just give it a chance, M/M, One Shot, Secret Relationship, Songfic, but not in the lyrics every few lines way, in the I am unashamedly borrowings lyrics for speech and adding words around them, kind of, protect alexander hamilton, protect john laurens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 23:23:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18353846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/2am_Writing_Addict/pseuds/2am_Writing_Addict
Summary: Alexander's life crashes to the ground when a letter arrives from South Carolina.





	The Letter

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoy this and remember to stay safe and read the tags. (I don't know if this will trigger anyone or not so just stay safe and read them anyway)

"Look after yourself Alex. I better not hear from Lafayette that you having been staying up for days in a row again." John's laugh filled the tent they sat in.

"I won't, John." The statement was met with raised eyebrows. "I promise. I can look after yourself you know." They laughed as John wrapped his arms around the smaller man. Alexander leaned up and pressing his lips to John's to say everything that he never could out loud, not with the walls of the tents being as dangerously thin as they are. John was the one who summoned up the strength to pull back.

"Goodbye Alex."

"Goodbye John."

John lifted the tent flap and was gone, off on the path which would take him to South Carolina.

\-----

Alexander was hunched his desk, hand flying over the page as he composed a letter to John who was still painfully far away in South Carolina. As he reached the end of the letter, he signed his name and lent back with a sigh. Johns' reply to his previous letter hadn't even had time to reach him but Alexander simply couldn't wait for a reply before attempting again to convince him to join him in Congress. Promising himself that he would send the letter in the morning, Alexander stood to draw the drapes, the sunset had already faded away to darkness. The silence of his office was broken by a knock.

"Alexander?" Eliza's voice drifted through the heavy wood.

"Come in," Alexander called back as he dragged the drapes together and began to reorganise his desk before immediately getting distracted with rewording a paragraph of his essays. By the time that the door was creaking open, he was so deep in the sea of words in his head that he was oblivious to Eliza's presence, her words nearing passing him by.

"Alexander, there's a letter for you from South Carolina." The mention of South Carolina was enough to call him back to the room around him but he continued to examine his essay to maintain the pretence of having work to do so that he would be able to read, what was almost definitely a letter from John, in private.

"It's from John Laurens. I'll read it later," He explained, noting a few changes onto the page.

"No, it's not." Alexander paused momentarily before continuing his work.

"Will you read it?" He asked, unwilling to reveal that a letter from John would need to be read in private, whereas most letters would not, but aware of the fact that the letter may be too important to wait until after dinner. There was a brief pause as Eliza opened the letter then her clear voice flooded the room.

"On Tuesday, the twenty-seventh, Lieutenant Colonel John Laurens was killed in a gunfight against British troops in South Carolina."

Alexander went cold. The words that followed were hazy as they carved the truth deeper into his head.

"These troops had not yet received word from Yorktown that the war was over."

The quill fell from his limp hand, scarring the pages with streaks of ink.

"He's buried here until his family can send for his remains."

Is it possible to lose the ability to see colour?

"As you may know, Lieutenant Colonel Laurens was engaged in recruiting three thousand men for the first all-black military regiment."

Drops of water stained the grey paper.

"The surviving members of this regiment have been returned to their masters."

He is gone.

Everything is gone... Not even his legacy is left. He is gone. Gone...

No.

No.

No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no-

"Alexander, are you alright?"

No! I have to do something. I can't let this happen. We were going to fight against slavery together. We were going to win.

_"We will never be free until we end slavery,"_ John had said. He was right. He was right. He. Was. Right.

The page crumpled in his grip. I have to work. I can't let this happen. I can't. John is gone so I'll just have to- I'll right enough for both of us. I have to.

"I have so much work to do."

For John.

Eliza's words fell on deaf ears as Alexander grabbed a sheet of paper from his pile and began to write. For the first time since John had left camp on a route that would lead him to South Carolina, Alexander broke his promise.

_"I better not hear from Lafayette that you having been staying up for days in a row again."_

_"I won't, John. I promise"_

He succumbed in exhaustion days later. Papers scattering the floor, the tears drying as they lay abandoned. The sea of words in his head had become a hurricane and his writing kept him one step ahead of drowning. When he awoke, the hurricane was rushing around. He grabbed his quill and wrote, only stopping to note that there he had awoken at his desk. There wasn't anyone strong enough to carry him to bed anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the result of my listening to (read: listening to and sobbing about at the same time) the Laurens' interlude one too many times.
> 
> Kudos and comments give me life so please comment and Kudos (if you want to of course)


End file.
